Kansas softball splits with Baylor

By Ben Ward

Monday, April 27, 2009

An 11-8 loss on Sunday wasn’t the ideal result for Kansas softball’s Senior Day, but it wasn’t enough to spoil a feel-good weekend for the team.

The Jayhawks (18-28, 5-9), who won Saturday’s contest 7-3, earned a split of the two-game series with Baylor (36-18, 11-6), and afterwards celebrated the careers of their five senior players.

“We’ve got a great group of seniors,” coach Tracy Bunge said. “Every Senior Day is emotional, but this group is definitely a special one. They’ve done a lot of great things for us.”

Third baseman Val Chapple, shortstop Stevie Crisosto, pitcher Valerie George, center fielder Dougie McCaulley and catcher Elle Pottorf were all honored for their career achievements.

“All five of them are such good players and teammates,” sophomore Allie Clark said. “They’ve taught us so much.”

Many of Kansas’ underclassmen also spoke of the importance of ending the year on a high note for their senior teammates.

“We really want to finish the year strong for them,” junior pitcher Sarah Vertelka said.

The Jayhawks set the tone on Saturday, smacking seven early hits to jump out to a 5-0 lead. Baylor didn’t do itself any favors, looking like the ‘Bad News’ Bears in the field. The Bears committed three errors on the game, in addition to several other poor throws and miscues that Kansas capitalized on.

Baylor chipped away for a few runs off of Vertelka, but the junior hurler settled down to earn the victory. On the game Vertelka allowed only two earned runs to the Bears, who entered the day hitting .310 as a team.

Game two started shortly thereafter, with Baylor carrying a 2-1 lead into the fourth inning.

And then came the rain, with severe thunderstorms and a tornado warning putting the game on hold until Sunday morning. Ironically, the second game was originally scheduled for Sunday before the threat of inclement weather bumped it up to Saturday.

With the wind blowing hard on Sunday, Baylor came out a completely different team. The Bears extended their lead to 7-1, knocking George from the ballgame and putting Kansas into a seemingly deep hole.

But the Jayhawks fought back with four quick runs in the fifth, three coming on a towering home run from Chapple. Kansas continued to knock around Baylor ace Whitney Canion, scattering nine hits including home runs from Clark and sophomore outfielder Liz Kocon. Ultimately though, with the winds swirling at Arrocha Ballpark, the Jayhawks were unable to keep Baylor off the scoreboard.

The Bears tallied 17 hits, a season high allowed by Kansas pitchers. Senior third baseman Brette Reagan came as advertised, as the three-time All American smacked three hits, including a soaring home run two lead Baylor.

Despite the loss in game two, the Jayhawks remained positive after the contest, proud to have played some of their most inspired games of the year.

“I’m so happy with how we played,” junior first baseman Amanda Jobe said. “Sure, we lost the second game, but we played two of our best games of the season.”

Coach Bunge echoed those sentiments, offering high praise of the team’s play.

“I couldn’t be happier with the team’s effort,” Bunge said. “We hit the ball very hard against a great pitcher, and we played with a ton of enthusiasm and lots of heart.”

With all the emotion and reflection, in a way Senior Day has come to symbolize the ‘end’ of a season. That aside though, the Jayhawks know there is still some work to be done.

“We still have a few weeks of games left,” McCaulley said. “We need to finish up strong and talk about all the mushy stuff later.”

— — Edited by Realle Roth

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